Calorie conundrum

From
Rick Jefferys

Bijal Trivedi explains how the method of preparation and condition of the food we eat makes a big difference to the number of calories available to the body (18 July, p 30). Like many other commentators on this subject, however, she fails to consider the related possibility that all digestive systems may not be equal. It seems to be assumed that all calories that pass the lips eventually enter the body from the digestive tract.

Yet individuals can have significantly different gut flora and other digestive capacities, leading to substantial differences in the proportion of calories absorbed from food. …